Secrets In the Night
by Sage Writings
Summary: Lauren slips out to have a moment alone. One-shot. [All characters belong to The Gifted]


Secrets In the Night

Lauren kept her eyes closed and focused on regulating her breathing, waiting for her brother to drop off to sleep. It had been a long day, and Andy needed his rest. Rest was the furthest thing from her mind though. So much had happened that the adrenaline was still pumping in her veins. It would be a while before her body calmed enough to allow rest to take her. Once satisfied that her brother was down for the count, the blonde slipped from the cot and ducked her way outside.

Freedom.

The teen snorted at the thought. She was no longer free; she'd never be free again. Lauren had hoped to graduate without anyone knowing of her ability, but now that was all down the drain. If only she had done something different. Talked Andy down after each school day or something. Maybe even told him of her ability...he wouldn't have ratted her out, right?

"You shouldn't be out here alone, you know."

Lauren jerked, a sigh of relief crossing her lips as John emerged from the shadows. "What, now you're a stalker?"

"Hunter," he corrected with a smirk. "Stalkers usually leave notes."

The blonde rolled her eyes before stuffing her hands in her pockets and looking to the sky. "I just needed to clear my head. I wasn't going to run off or anything."

"Good, because that would be dangerous." John lingered back, giving her a respectable amount of space. He studied the young woman as she gazed at the stars. "You're sixteen, right?" he inquired, surprised that a teenage girl could react so quickly to the dangers they'd endured that day.

"I'll be eighteen next month."

He mused over the thought a moment. "You discovered your powers at fifteen?" It was hard for him to believe that a highschool girl could harness such powers without posting about it on social media. Then again, something about Lauren seemed different.

"I see you've been talking to my mother," the blonde rolled her eyes before looking to the ground and unearthing a rock with the toe of her sneaker. A brief silence settled between them before she spoke again. "Yeah, it was about three years ago."

"Did anger trigger yours too?"

"No," her voice dropped to a whisper. "H-Heartbreak."

John snorted in spite of himself. "Some boy break your heart?"

Lauren turned sharply to glare at him. "No, my best friend d-died!" Saying the words brought the memories that she'd buried to the forefront of her mind. The storm that night. The mangled car. The closed casket. Lauren dropped to the ground, drawing her knees to her chest and rocking slightly, willing the images to leave her mind.

John ran a hand through his hair, feeling like an ass. "I'm sorry, Lauren, I didn't know." When she didn't respond, he walked over carefully, easing onto the ground beside her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The young woman shrugged. "She-She died in a car wreck. Her family was coming home from vacation, and it was raining. The guy in the oncoming lane fell asleep and hit them head on. They all d-died." Lauren took a breath before continuing. She hadn't talked about Samantha's death. Ever. Something about John made her feel at ease. Comfortable. "A few weeks later, we were coming home from church, and this guy swerved into our lane...I knew he was going to hit us, I just knew it... I threw my hands up to shield the blow, you know, but...he swerved onto the side of the road instead... Mom said it was a miracle, but..."

"It was you," he finished quietly.

"Yeah," the blonde nodded, looking down to her hands. "I felt something that night, like, when your hand goes to sleep, you know? I thought it was just an adrenaline rush..."

"Until it happened again?"

"Yeah," Lauren looked over to him. "When I knew what it was, I worked to control it. I didn't want anyone to know... They hate us, you know?"

"I know," John nodded solemnly. He'd dealt with many a person too scared or too ignorant to accept what he was. "You don't have to worry about that anymore though. You're safe here." His arm wrapped around her shoulders protectively. This girl was wise beyond her years, having to deal with more than anyone should have to at her age. No matter what else happened to them, he would make sure she remained safe.


End file.
